00Enrolled HCR 9                                                                                                          
01 Congratulating Alaska Airlines on its 75th anniversary.                                                                 
02                                       _______________                                                                   
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
04      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines began in May 1932 as McGee Airways providing service                                     
05 between Anchorage and Bristol Bay using a three-seat Stinson aircraft; and                                              
06      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines continued to expand its service in Alaska through several                                
07 mergers with local carriers during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s; and                                                     
08      WHEREAS the name "Alaska Airlines" was adopted in 1944; and                                                      
09      WHEREAS, by the 1960s, Alaska Airlines was providing jet air service between                                     
10 Alaska and Seattle; and                                                                                                 
11      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines strengthened its operating base in Alaska by merging                                     
12 with Alaska Coastal-Ellis Airlines and Cordova Airlines in the late 1960s; and                                          
13      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines expanded methodically throughout the West Coast of the                                   
14 United States during the 1980s; and                                                                                     
15      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines joined with its sister carrier Horizon Air and merged                                  
16 with Jet America in 1987; and                                                                                           
17      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines has grown to be the ninth largest United States airline                                  

01 and is the dominant carrier in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest; and                                                    
02      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines continues to distinguish itself by providing superior                                    
03 customer service and pioneering technologies that improve operational performance and                                   
04 expand flight safety margins; and                                                                                       
05      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines is deeply involved in the communities of the state and                                   
06 makes over 50 percent of its corporate charitable contributions to organizations serving the                            
07 state; and                                                                                                              
08      WHEREAS it is the people of Alaska Airlines and their spirit, the spirit of The Great                            
09 Land where Alaska Airlines began, that make Alaska Airlines unique; and                                                 
10      WHEREAS Alaska Airlines is celebrating its 75th anniversary in May 2007;                                         
11      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature acknowledges 75 years of                                        
12 service to the state by Alaska Airlines; and be it                                                                      
13      FURTHER RESOLVED the Alaska State Legislature congratulates Alaska Airlines                                      
14 on reaching this significant landmark in its corporate history.                                                         
15      A COPY of this resolution shall be sent to William S. "Bill" Ayer, Chairman,                                     
16 President, and Chief Executive Officer, Alaska Airlines.